SANTO DOMINGO - After remaining in the red during the first half of this year, the Dominican construction 3.8% in July, driven by local sales of materials such as cement and rods , which experienced increases compared to 2024.
This is reflected in the preliminary figures of the Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity (IMAE) of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), corresponding to the month of July 2025, which indicate that if this dynamic continues and the external factors of uncertainty gradually dissipate, a reactivation of the investment schedules in private sector , which, combined with a greater execution of capital spending, would contribute to consolidating the recovery of the sector.
“During the month of July, the construction sector's activity registered a year-on-year variation of 3.8%, improving its performance compared to the accumulated contraction of 2.3% observed in the January-June period. This behavior is reflected in the local sales volumes of key inputs for the development of infrastructure works, particularly cement and rebar, which show increases compared to July 2024,” the report highlights.
The Central Bank points out that the recent liquidity program approved by the Monetary Board to support productive sectors, along with a good performance of the external accounts, have created an environment conducive to a gradual economic recovery.
During the current week, the Central Bank reported that of the RD$81 billion allocated by the Monetary Board for productive sectors, approximately 60% of the total has been disbursed by August 21, 2025, leaving approximately RD$29 billion until its expiration date in November 2025.
It details that the economic sectors benefiting from access to legal reserve resources are the following: commerce, with RD$14,768 million in 762 beneficiaries; construction with RD$8,600 million in 234 beneficiaries ; manufacturing with RD$2,699 million in 107 beneficiaries; agriculture with RD$943 million in 64 beneficiaries; export with RD$753 million in 48 beneficiaries and MSMEs with RD$3,753 million in 1,830 beneficiaries, among others.
reserve requirements released by the Central Bank and progress in the monetary policy transmission mechanism will be key to promoting the expansion of private credit and the reduction of interest rates, which, together with greater execution of capital spending in the remainder of this year, would boost the dynamism of the productive sectors and contribute to economic growth,” the organization highlights.
A semester of contraction
For the first half of 2025, the sector was affected by two consecutive quarters of contraction , attributed to several factors such as high interest rates , high costs of construction materials and changes in the country's migration , which have generated massive repatriations of Haitian labor.
Furthermore, there are difficulties in obtaining building permits , with processing times now extending to six to eight months. Public investment , falling by an average of 1.5% of GDP between 2022 and 2024 compared to the pre-COVID period, representing a considerable reduction.
